Corruption in Afghanistan offers lessons for billions going to Ukraine

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko speaks in April during a hearing of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee concerning the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Sopko says the U.S. also needs to keep an eye on the billions of dollars provided to Ukraine. (Alex Brandon/AP)

WASHINGTON — Just last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired all two dozen regional military recruiters. Investigators found they were coming up with bogus documents to show a potential recruit was unfit for military duty. The price? $10,000 each.

And a few days later, the New York Times reported that a Ukrainian weapons dealer was inflating prices. This follows the dismissal of the chair of Ukraine's Supreme Court in May after being accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes. And before that Zelenskyy removed six deputy ministers and five regional administrators on charges of – you guessed it – corruption.